The Short And Tall Of It

August 17, 1991

Petr Korda was the first singles player to advance to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Omar Camporese Friday. Korda's match ended at 12:26 p.m. but he knew he wouldn't learn his semifinal opponent until Michael Chang and Marc Rosset met in the evening session. Rosset won, 6-2, 6-3. "You just have to play," Korda said when asked how he would prepare for two different styles of play. "It doesn't matter if it's the big guy or the small guy."

Growing confidence Defending champion Derrick Rostagno, who advanced to the semifinals when Richard Krajicek retired because of a knee injury, talked about the difference in his game from a year ago.

"The only difference is that this year I have confidence I can play well on these courts," he said. "I know if I dig deep enough,

I can win the tournament. Until you win one, you aren't sure."

Plenty of tickets left The remaining tickets for today and Sunday went on sale Friday with tournament officials hopeful of sellouts both days.

As of Friday night, there were approximately 1,000 tickets available for today's semifinals and around 1,500 remaining for Sunday's championship.

Ticket sales for next year's tournament, meanwhile, have been "brisk," according to Sudie Brown, who is operating a 1992 sales booth outside the stadium.

"We are giving everybody that had box seats this year an opportunity to reorder or upgrade their seats for next year," Brown said. "We knew that once the fans saw the facility they would be coming back and that is just what is happening."

Box seat packages will cost $50 more next year for the nine-day session. A four-seat box in the front row along the baseline will cost $2,650. A baseline box in rows 17-29 cost $1,650. Courtside boxes range from $1,300 in rows 25-26 to $2,550 in the first row.

First default for Krajicek Krajicek has had problems with his right knee, a condition called patellar tendinitis,for more than a year. It cropped up after Krajicek grew 10 inches in two years when he was a teenager.

Never before has Krajicek had to default a match because of his knee. He plans to rest for five days and take treatments. He hopes he'll be able to play in the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 26.

Krajicek's injury affected both the singles and doubles draws at the Volvo. What effect it will have on defending champion Derrick Rostagno is unknown.

Rostagno was playing Krajicek in the quarterfinals Friday when Krajicek wrenched his knee. After winning the first set 6-3, Krajicek went down 1-2, 15-40 in the second set, then withdrew.

"I would have liked to have played a full match," Rostagno said. "Usually, with each match, the better you play."

"As far as how [the half-match] will affect me over the next couple of days, I don't think it will," Rostagno said. ". . . I felt pretty good [against Krajicek], though not right off. But even in the first game he served, I was seeing the ball well. I felt comfortable. I'll just have to see what the next day brings."

Although he was a medical withdrawal from the singles draw, Krajicek could have played doubles had his knee allowed him.

Krajicek was to play with partner Jan Siemerink against Luiz Mattar and Jaime Oncins in the late doubles quarterfinal on the Stadium Court. Mattar and Oncins received a walkover into the semifinals. The late match Friday was replaced with a semifinal match, and Jeff Brown and Melville defeated Charles Beckman and Paul Haarhuis, 4-6, 7-6 (7-0), 6-4.

Hot flashes When McEnroe was on the brink of elimination, there was this exchange: Fan: "Mac, take a deep breath."

McEnroe: "Maybe you should hold yours for a while."

As temperatures climbed, the public address announcer advised spectators to keep drinking fluids. The temperature was in the 90s

in the 15,000-seat stadium, and soared even higher on the court. -- Ken Davis, Glenn Jordan, George Smith and Michael Arace